Lucky
by Funkywatermelon
Summary: Gloria ponders the events of the last four years while remembering past, pivotal moments for her and her boyfriend, Melman. How did the hippo and giraffe REALLY meet? Read to find out! :D A bit of Alex/Gia, and a TON of Melman/Gloria.


**Hi All! And welcome to my first ever, non-musical play Madagascar story! I would do more of these, but... I'm super busy with school stuff (aren't we all?) and I'm helping my dear friend UzuriCasca with her story "Madagascar 4: Circus Showdown!" And a lot of my ideas have been sort of incorporated into that story... mainly the characters Catalina the sea lioness and Gabby the albino zebra, Uzuri and I have plans for these girls so I can't really tell you exactly what's going on with them... so unfortunatelly that means, neither of my girls are in my stories until that story is done, but please feel free to check "Circus Showdown!" out and pay a visit to my girls... I'm sure they'd really appreciate it! (Trust me, Gabby really needs the love! Poor thing.) As a result of this, any stories I do for Madagascar have to be in such a way that it doesn't give anything from Circus Showdown away... Anyways, this is sort of a "Happy Four year anniversary Meloria!" celebration story (about a week late XD), "Thanks Uzuri for putting my girls in your story and making them AWESOME!" story and just overall... my contribution to the SERIOUS lack of Meloria stories up here, come on guys, these two are PRECIOUS! let's give them some lime light, huh? This is basically my dive into the mind of Gloria the Hippo, and her feelings on the happenings of the second and third films, and a little peek into her past too. so please, have fun, relax and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Melman, Gloria, Marty, Alex, Gia, Vitaly, Stefano, and all the other residents of Circus Zaragoza belong to Dreamworks. Gloria's parents, Melman's parents and grandpa, Joy and Will all belong to me! **

* * *

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been_

_Lucky to be coming home again_

_I'm lucky we're in love in every way_

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed_

_Lucky to be coming home someday_

_Jason Mraz_

* * *

They had done it again.

To be honest, it wasn't that much of a surprise to the ragtag troupe of animals that made up Circus Zaragoza, ever since the circus had come under new management (thanks to a quartet of american zoo animals) and the show had been changed from the more classic take on the circus to the more modern, psychedelic, "Cirque Du Soleil" style event that the aptly named "Fur Power" was, their performances, both evening and matinee had been sold out. Of course, having Alex the lion and Vitaly the tiger, both international superstars in their own right in the cast helped fill a few seats but, everyone agreed that without each and every performer there, the show would not be nearly as good.

Gloria the hippo smiled as she leaned against one of the poles holding up the backstage portion of their circus tent by the exit. Everyone was celebrating yet another successful performance. Gloria, Melman, Alex, and Marty had bought and renewed the show back in the summer and a crisp fall night breeze came into the tent from the flaps leading to the outside. It was mid-November and after spending the whole month of October doing a Halloween themed show (Complete with costumes for each performer) it was nice to be back to their usual, non-themed performances again, of course, they were in the process of creating a winter holiday themed show for the month of December, so the normal performances would end soon.

Gloria couldn't help but giggle as she saw Gia the jaguar run up to Alex, causing the lion to pick her up and spin her around before enveloping her in a hug, the pair laughing the whole time. It was quite obvious to everyone but the couple themselves that these two had serious feelings for each other. The Italian feline certainly helped Alex get over his clutch on New York City, and Gloria was certain that Gia was one of the big reasons why Alex decided to come back to the circus. The hippo could not be happier for her friend, this girl enjoyed dancing, thrived in the spotlight, was energetic, exotic, youthful, pretty, and anything else that Alex could have possibly wanted in a girl, and more. The lion and the jaguar were a perfect match, and Gloria was thrilled that her friend had found someone so well suited for him. Gloria watched as the pair stared into each other's eyes and began to lean towards each other only to be interrupted by Vitaly who decided at that moment to congratulate his 'comrades' on a good performance. A quiet yet audible groan from a majority of the circus was heard, a lot of the animals were rooting for the felines to have their first kiss (which had not happened yet) and Vitaly's distaste for his 'little syestra' having a boyfriend was certainly creating a roadblock for the two younger felines. But everyone knew that this pair was going to be together eventually, it would happen, and there was nothing that Vitaly could do about it. Gloria could only hope that they would get together before they decided to go and visit Alex's parents in Africa. Everyone in the circus agreed that it would be a lot of fun to, since they are now a completely animal run circus, to perform for other animals. And they all agreed that Alex's home-refuge would be one of the first all animal audiences they would have. It would certainly be a surprise when they got there, and Gloria could not help but smirk at the idea of Zuba and Florrie's reaction to their son's girlfriend. Florrie would undoubtedly be pleased beyond belief while Zuba would probably be a bit taken aback, but would most likely get used to Gia after a while. The pair had talked to their son about getting a girl before he left, and would surely be pleased to see that their 'Alakay' had managed to find himself a good girl.

Gloria stepped to the side as Marty and Stefano went past her to get to the exit of the tent, smirking as she listened to the pair brainstorm different ideas for the holiday themed version of their act. Gloria was proud of Marty; he was taking the fact that his best friend had found someone very well, despite the fact that the stallion himself was still single. Sure there were Ernestina, Esperanza, and Esmerelda, the Andalusian triplets but Marty preferred girls more… unique than them. There had been that Okapi back in Africa, but Gloria had no idea what had happened to her, and she wasn't about to question the Zebra about it either. Gloria beamed as she noticed Melman joining the conversation going on between the three felines and before she knew it, she found herself remembering how she and the giraffe had first met.

_Young Gloria danced around her enclosure giggling as she leaped and bounced and experimented with various new moves. She held her arms up in the air and began to tiptoe around in a circle, doing a pirouette, a move she had been trying to master for a while. Realizing that she finally had it right she grinned and ran up to her mother who was sitting with her older sister, Joy, looking at pieces of paper._

"_Mama, Mama!" she said excitedly, "See what I can do!" Gloria then did a perfectly executed pirouette before looking up and noticing that neither her mother nor sister were watching._

"_You wasn't lookin!" the youngster said with a pout on her face, "I do it again! Watch this time!" another pirouette, and once again, they weren't looking._

"_Gloria! Can't you see we're busy?" Joy stated, rolling her eyes._

"_I jus' wanted ta show ya somethin!" the toddler said, putting her hands on her hips. "whatchya lookin at anyways?" _

"_Your sister is going to join the breeding program, sweetie." Gloria's mom said as she picked up the youngster and put her on her lap and began showing her the papers. "See, each of these boys are eligible, and, in a few years, the zoo will pick one of them to send to us, so your sister can have her own family!"_

"_Is the boy gunna be her husband?" Gloria asked. Her mother smiled._

"_Yes dear, the zoo picks out husbands and wives for us. When you're old enough, it'll be your turn." The older hippo said._

"_Yeah!" Joy stated smirking "and they're gonna send you a big ol' stinky guy!" Gloria gasped and looked up at her mother._

"_Mama! What if they send me a big stinky guy, An' I don't like him? Does he gots to be my husband?" the little one asked, fear in her eyes. The girls' mother rolled her eyes and put the toddler down on the ground._

"_They won't send you someone like that, girls, the zoo picks very carefully. But whoever they send, you'll have to learn to love." She stated. Gloria rolled her eyes._

"_That doesn't sound very fun…" she stated "I don' wanna do that! Imma be my own lady! No boy!" She stated proudly "Unless I want one." She added quietly. Her mother chuckled before turning Gloria in a different direction._

"_You'll feel different about it when you are older, Why don't you see if you can find Will?" she asked her daughter "I'm sure your brother would love to see you do your dancing." _

"_Will don't like my kinda dancin!" Gloria stated as she walked off "He only wants to do stuffs like the worm, or, or, spin around on the ground like a silly-head!" she frowned as she continued on, looking for her brother. "WILL!" she called "WILL! Momma says I gotsta play with you!" the toddler continued to look around her family's exhibit, searching for her brother, she did this for about five minutes or so before looking up and realizing that she was in a part of the exhibit that she had never been in before, she started to look around, hoping to find her brother, and came upon a fence. She walked up to it and peeked through to see some of the strangest animals she had ever seen. She had seen a few squirrels and birds that had snuck into their enclosure before, but nothing like this. For one thing, they walked on four legs, had long tails, and had spots all over them. But the strangest thing was the fact that their necks were so long, causing these creatures to be VERY tall, and quite frankly, a bit scary to a small hippopotamus like Gloria. She continued to watch her neighbors nervously before seeing one of the creatures that caught her attention, they were small, like her, following one of the bigger ones around, and had a white cone thing on their head. "Pssst!" Gloria whispered, hoping to catch the small one's attention "Hey! Over here!" The young creature turned to see the young hippo and took a few steps back, startled."_

"_A-are you talking to me?" it asked nervously, in a shy voice. Gloria grinned as she noticed it was a little animal, like her, only, this one was a boy._

"_Yeah!" Gloria stated "C'mere! I just wanna talk!" The little boy slipped away from who Gloria assumed was his mother and came up to her._

"_H-hi." He said._

"_Hey!" Gloria said smiling. "Why do ya got that thing on your head?"_

"_oh, this?" the young animal asked, using his hoof to poke at his white cone thing. "It's a cone. I got a shot earlier, and they put this on me so I wouldn't scratch at the spot where the needle went."_

"_Oh." Gloria said, "shots are no fun. I've only had two though."_

"_Yeah." The little boy stated "I've had a lot. My mommy says that I'll only be healthy if I have all my medicines. So I gots to be extra careful." He then leaned in closer "I'm probably not even supposed to be here right now!" he whispered nervously. Gloria giggled._

"_You're funny!" she stated. "I'm Gloria." She grinned as she held out her little hand through the bars of the fence, the little boy held out his hoof for her to shake._

"_I-I'm M-Melman. Melman Mankiewicz." He stated._

"_Melman?" Gloria asked, confused "Where'd ya get a name like that?"_

"_I'm actually Melman number three!" Melman stated proudly "My daddy's Melman number two, and my grandpa's Melman number one! I was named after them, when I get older; my daddy wants me to name my son Melman number four!"_

"_huh." Gloria stated. "My mom just thought Gloria was a pretty name."_

"_It is." Melman stated, blushing a little bit._

"_Aww! Thanks!" the young girl said, smiling "So, Melman, what are you? You look differn't then me."_

"_I was gunna ask you the same thing!" Melman said shyly "Uh, I guess I can go first… I'm a giraffe!"_

"_Oh." Gloria said, happy to have learned something "I'm a hippo!" _

"_Cool!" Melman said smiling._

"_Gloria!" a voice called from inside the hippo enclosure "Where are ya! Mom said you wanted me?" Gloria turned at the voice._

"_Oh!" she said quickly "That's my brother, Will! I should go!" Melman's face deflated._

"_Oh, ok." He said sadly._

"_Aww. Don't feel bad!" Gloria stated. "I like you Melman Mankiewicz, wanna be friends?"_

"_Sure!" the young giraffe said smiling._

"_Bye!" Gloria stated, waving._

"_Bye." Melman waved back as he turned around to go back to his mother. Gloria turned around to see her older than her but younger than Joy brother, Will. _

"_What were ya doin?" he asked as he picked up his sister._

"_I was talkin' with the giraffe boy in the next exhibit over! He's got a white thing on his head!" the toddler stated excitedly._

"_That's cool! But you gotta keep it on the downlow around mom and dad, ok? They don't like us interacting with the other species here." Will stated as he carried his sister over towards their father._

"_Why?" Gloria asked. _

"_I dunno, they just don't." Will said as he put his sister down. Gloria ran up to her father only to be scooped up by the man and tickled mercilessly. She had always been a daddy's girl._

_Gloria paid visits to Melman once every few days or so, and about a month after they first met, Gloria got some bad news. She, Melman, and a little zebra boy about their same age named Martin from the other side of the zoo were all going to be transferred from the Bronx Zoo, where they lived currently to another, smaller zoo in the middle of the city. Well, the news was bad for her family, they would certainly miss her, but Gloria was kind of excited to see her new home, she wouldn't have to hide her conversations with Melman anymore, and she'd probably get to meet all kinds of other animals when she got there._

Gloria grinned at the memory. Once the transfer had taken place, Melman and Gloria were relieved to see that Martin (Or Marty as he liked to be called) was a lot of fun too, and the trio of animals quickly become friends, they did everything together. And when, a few months after they moved in, a little lion cub the people named Alex moved into the last pen making up their little segment of the zoo, their group was complete. Alex and Marty quickly became best friends, and were still best friends to this day, sharing inside jokes, and, sure they had little spats from time to time over silly things, but, their friendship never changed. Melman and Gloria had quickly become best friends as well, the female helping the giraffe through his awkward teenage years (which were a nightmare for the poor guy, to say the least) and the giraffe harboring a secret crush on her from the moment he met her to the moment he decided to fess up in Africa before attempting to be a volcano sacrifice.

Gloria shuddered a bit at the memory of the volcano. She had always been torn about the memory, on one hand, it was a good memory, the moment they got together, but on the other hand, it was the moment when her beloved almost committed suicide. Gloria shook her head and smiled again as yet another memory came into her head.

_Gloria sat on a log by the newly filled watering hole and sighed before picking up a rock and tossing It in the water, causing it to skip a few times before finally going under. She then put her head back and took a deep breath, looking up at the moon. There was a party going on not too far away, she could hear the music, but, she wasn't really in the partying mood right now, and quite frankly, she had a lot of thinking to do. A lot had happened that day, and she needed to absorb it all._

"_Gloria?" A voice asked from a few feet away. Gloria looked up and smiled at the sight of Melman, looking worriedly at her._

"_Hey, Melman." She stated._

"_You ok?" the giraffe asked as he sat down next to her. Gloria sighed as she threw another rock._

"_I'll be fine. I'm just… it's been a crazy day." She began._

"_It has, hasn't it?" Melman asked, wrapping one of his arms around his best friend. "But, it's all over now, right? Everything's ok?"_

"_I guess." Gloria sighed "I just." Tears began to form in the hippos eyes._

"_Moto Moto didn't give you a hard time, did he?" Melman asked, growing a little tense._

"_No, Melman." Gloria stated smiling, she had to admit, Melman was adorable when he was jealous. "I talked to him. He and I, we're done. He's not happy about it but he'll just have to get over it."_

"_So, you're ok? Nothing else is wrong?" Melman asked._

"_Well… the whole almost losing Alex thing was kind of scary." Gloria stated. "But… he's fine now so..."_

"_Then what's bothering you?" the giraffe asked. Gloria sighed as more tears formed in her eyes._

"_I just… I realized I had made a huge mistake, and, that I had failed to see what was right in front of me my entire life! And then, when I realized what I really wanted, which was you, they were gonna throw you into the volcano! I-I almost lost you." The hippo shuddered at the memory and Melman just pulled her closer to him._

"_Hey, I'm fine." He stated, smiling down at her. "You saved me, and get this… they found the other doctor! I'm not dying after all!" Gloria smiled._

"_I could have told you that you weren't going to die, Melman." She said grinning._

"_Yeah, well, it's nice to know for sure." Melman said, smirking at her. _

"_Well, now we can be together for a good long time!" Gloria said grinning. Melman's eyes widened and looked at her._

"_R-really? You mean…" He said excitedly. Gloria giggled._

"_Yes, Melman. When I told you I wanted to be with you, I was serious!" she said as she gently took one of his hooves in her hands. "I love you, baby." She grinned as Melman's eyes widened even more and a huge grin made its way across his face. This was the first time she had said that to him._

"_I-I love you too, Gloria." Melman said smiling. Gloria beamed at him, it being the first time she heard him say that to her, and looked down at the ground in front of her._

"_I'm such an idiot." She stated sadly. "If I had just known that you were it this entire time! Ugh. You were always there for me! You're my best friend! You know me better than I know myself sometimes! How could I not have seen it!" She looked over at Melman who pulled her against him in a loving hug. She just wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. "How long have you felt this way?" she asked, her voice somewhat muffled._

"_Ever since I first met you." Melman stated. Gloria looked up at him to see that he was looking at her with a loving, yet slightly embarrassed smile on his face. She looked up at him._

"_Melman, sweetie, why didn't you tell me before today?" she asked sympathetically._

"_I-I didn't know how to tell you…" the giraffe said embarrassedly, "And, to be honest, I did tell you when we were crashing, but, you were asleep."_

"_And Alex and Marty?" the hippo asked._

"_They heard during the crash, they've known for the last few days." Melman stated, looking down embarrassedly. Gloria smiled at him then looked down._

"_Well, it's sweet of them to keep your secret but still.. ugh, I feel like such an idiot! I am SO sorry Melman! Moto Moto, no wonder you kept dissing him!" she said, frustratedly._

"_You didn't know." Melman said, "and it's not a big deal anymore. Moto Moto's out of the picture, we're together, everything's fine now. And you are not an idiot, so stop saying that!" Gloria grinned as she hugged her new boyfriend tightly._

"_You're right. We're together now, Alex and Marty are safe, everything's fine. I don't know why I'm so edgy tonight." She said, once again burying her face in his chest. Melman used his hoof to move her face so she was looking up at him._

"_You're probably edgy because today's been so crazy; It's been crazy for all of us. We just need to relax." He stated._

"_Yeah." Gloria stated. She smiled as Melman moved his head down near hers and began to gently nuzzle her._

"_well, out of everything that happened today, I'm glad that we happened." He stated lovingly. Gloria grinned as she nuzzled back._

"_Me too, Melman, Me too." She then snuggled up to his body, warming herself up in the cool early November air. "This is nice, just the two of us."_

"_yeah, it really is. Just me and you." Melman stated, grinning proudly. Gloria gently took his head in her hands and moved so she was facing him. She smiled at him sweetly for a moment before leaning in and gently pressing her lips against his. Melman was surprised, but reciprocated the action after a few seconds. It was a perfect first kiss, and after a few moments the pair split, touching their foreheads and looking at each other lovingly. "thank you… you know, for saving my life back there." Melman stated. "I-I probably should have mentioned it earlier." Gloria giggled._

"_Melman, you're my best friend, the man that I love. Do you really think I would have let you jump in there?" she asked._

"_No." Melman said "But I'm sure glad that you did save me. I think I need to thank you."_

"_You already thanked me, sweetie, it's ok." Gloria grinned, Melman smiled deviously._

"_Oh, I don't think I did." He said grinning as he grabbed Gloria and gave her kiss on the nose "thank you." A kiss on the cheek "thank you." A kiss on the other cheek "thank you." More kisses and "thank you's" ensued until Gloria started laughing and eventually got into a laughing fit, which caused her to snort._

"_You have the most amazing laugh, you know that?" Melman grinned as he continued to kiss and tickle his new girlfriend, the pair continued to laugh as Gloria joined in the fun and began to return the favor by kissing Melman all over his face, and tickling him. Eventually the pair got worn out and just settled for laying down and looking at the stars, stealing a kiss every now and then. A few hours later Alex and Marty stopped by to check on their two friends to find the couple cuddled up together, asleep. The two friends smiled at each other, and let the new couple enjoy their time together._

Gloria smiled; it had been a perfect night, followed by many like it. Melman was, for lack of a better word, perfect. Always attentive, always grateful, and always there for her when she needed him, and sometimes even when she didn't. He'd been her best friend since childhood so he knew pretty much everything about her, which she loved. The hippo quickly washed off her show paint and took off her tutu from the performance and headed off to her and Melman's train car. The train had completely been updated since the four New Yorkers had bought the circus, the wood had been refinished, beds and hammocks and sleeping accessories were purchased, televisions and computers were put in, the animals did not have a huge amount of space to live in but they made the best of it, and as a result were rewarded with really nice, cozy cars that felt like home. Much nicer than the old stick huts that Gloria and her friends had made back in Africa, and a bit nicer than the boat they stayed in while on Madagascar, and infinitely better than the exhibits back in New York. Gloria shuddered at the memory of the chain link fence that had separated her and Melman for those ten minutes they were stuck there… She had thought she would never get to really be with Melman again, sure he'd be right there but, all they'd be able to exchange was words and maybe a few carefully executed touches here and there through the fence. Thank goodness their new friends came back and got them out, Gloria was very grateful. She sighed as she entered her and Melman's car and looked around the inside; this was home, not that silly exhibit back in Central Park. Gloria looked at the various pictures that she had posted around the room, various images of the denizens of Zaragoza, and a healthy amount of images of her and Melman. There was a cozy bed in the corner of the room where the pair got to cuddle up when it was time to go to sleep. Gloria sat down on the bed and smiled as she examined the beautiful white orchid plant that Melman had given her about a week ago for their four year anniversary. Four years. Four years of happiness… four of the best years of her life… and, unfortunately, four years without a proposal. Gloria was a patient girl when it came to most things but, she had to admit, it would be wonderful to marry Melman someday. They already pretty much acted like a married couple anyway, and being able to be married, settle down, have children, had always been something that she wanted to do. She wanted all of that, not to mention that Gloria Mankiewicz sounded pretty darn cute. Gloria grinned as the door opened and Melman entered, having removed his blue showpaint.

"Hey honey!" he said smiling as he came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey sweetie." She grinned "Good job tonight."

"You too." Melman grinned "I have to say, this place is really growing on me. It feels like we're finally home after all those years. We finally found home."

"I know." Gloria said smiling "I love it here too." The hippo then yawned.

"Tired?" Melman smiled as Gloria grinned at him.

"Yeah. You?" She asked.

"I could use some shut eye." He grinned as he climbed onto the bed. Gloria put her flowers back on the nightstand and cuddled up to her boyfriend.

"Night baby, I love you." She stated, giving him a quick kiss on the lips goodnight.

"love you too, honey." He grinned, having returned the kiss.

Gloria smiled to herself as she got comfortable, this was home, they were finally home. After so many years of searching and looking for home, they had finally found it. Zaragoza was home, and that was that.

Gloria grinned again as she looked at the sleeping form of Melman beside her, who was she kidding? As long as he was there, and they were together, she was home. She had a wonderful place to live, numerous loving friends, and of course, him, always there to make her feel special.

She sure was a lucky girl.

* * *

**Good, bad? What do ya think? I'm not thrilled with it but, these ideas just stuck in my head and I had to let them out... so here ya'll go! **

**As for the past thing... My sis and I LOVE the idea that these two knew each other from the Bronx zoo! (Dreamworks has stated that Melman IS from there, no info on where Gloria originates from though.) I DID sprinkle a few hints of future events in Circus Showdown XP so if some of you *coughUzuricough* wanna PM me with what you think they were and what's gunna happen go ahead! **

**This was just a random sprinkling of Gloria's thoughts, and I hope you loved them! **

**The song lyric at the beginning of the story I feel kinda fits these two... (one of two songs that fits them... the other one is "All About Us" by He Is We. I heard that song earlier today and was like "HOLY SHIZNET! THIS IS THEM!" seriously guys, it screams meloria from the third film. LOOK IT UP! Seriously.)**

**In other news, watched Madagascar 3 with my mom, sister, father and cat (seriously, the cat sat and watched the ENTIRE thing!), sis and I laughed at parts we foudn funny, mom laughed at pretty much EVERY joke (ESPECIALLY with Sonya... she freakin' LOVES that bear!) dad smiled at a few things (Like Vitaly's vodka joke ["ABSOLUT no outsiders, so wipe that SMIRNOFF your face and POPOV!"]), laughed at the boy getting stuck up the elephants butt, and gasped and went "they're back!" when Central Park Zoo was on screen again. As for teh cat, he loved it. Meowed at appropriate moments (During the "fur power!" Cheer was the cutest... I like to think he was going "Fur power!" too.) Anyways it was a lot of fun!**

**But anywhos I hope you enjoyed this story! It was pretty fun to write!**


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